Introducing Corpus-Informed Spoken Grammar Instruction in EFL Classrooms: The Ethiopian Experience

This study was aimed at investigating the views of Ethiopian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and teachers towards the spoken English grammar instruction in the speaking skills classrooms. To this end, a section of 31 undergraduate English majoring students, who were taking the 'Spoken English 1' course and their teacher were purposefully selected. The students were taught the corpus-informed spoken grammar instruction for six weeks. Alongside with the intervention instruction, the students were given six consecutive tests on a weekly basis with the intention of measuring their academic achievements. At the end of the instruction, they filled in an exit questionnaire which was intended to know their reactions towards the instruction. Moreover, the teacher was also filled in three teacher-logs. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. The findings indicated that the students demonstrated significant achievements. As a result, both the students and the teacher welcomed the incorporation of the spoken grammar instruction. Therefore, it was recommended that given enough training and practicing time, the Ethiopian EFL students and teachers perceive the corpus-informed spoken English grammar instruction as a positive addition to the English language pedagogy.